Insight into the structural, electrical and photoresponse properties of individual Fe:SrTiO3 nanotubes

• Iron-doped titanates nanotubes are synthesized following a simple route (EPD).
• Structural characterization is reported, showing homogeneous Fe doping.
• FIB-fabrication is extended to nanostructured titanates to obtain single-nanotube devices.
• Electrical tests are performed on the devices. Stability and reproducibility is demonstrated.
• The possibility to fabricate functional devices with them is shown with UV-photoresponse tests.

Titanates are suitable for many applications such as oxygen sensing and tunable HTS (high temperature superconducting) microwave filters. The potential advantages of the nanostructured forms have been however scarcely explored compared to other oxides. In this work, the structural and electrical properties of individual iron-doped strontium titanate nanotubes (Fe:SrTiO3) grown by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) were assessed for the first time, showing high stability and reproducibility. This result paves the way to further development of more complex titanate-based devices, as for instance nanostructured oxygen STFO sensors. From experimental data, it was concluded that the polycrystalline form of Fe:SrTiO3 nanotubes is the major limitation to attain high photoconductivity gains when exposed to UV-light.